


Gaping Hollow

by Walpger



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Artistic Liberties, At least in my opinion, But definitely more gen, But only sort of?, CC-2224 | Cody Needs a Hug, Clones, Force exhaustion, Gen, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I actually did so much research for this, Ice Planet Vandor, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Sleep Deprivation, That's Not How The Force Works, The Force, Whump, codywan if you squint, freezing temperatures, interpret how you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24435754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walpger/pseuds/Walpger
Summary: “I’ll check into it,” the Jedi said, already making his way towards the ridge he had pointed out. Ahsoka made panicked eye contact with Cody as her grandmaster stalked away.“Wait, sir. Alone?” Cody sounded accusatory. Obi Wan stopped and turned, very slowly, to face them both again. He sighed.“I suppose not. Care to join me?”---When two 212th troops go missing on the Ice Planet Vandor, Obi Wan, Ahsoka, and Cody go to investigate. And things go really well! (Until, of course, they don't). Basically, everyone really needs sleep and probably medical attention, Anakin is bad at obeying orders and loves his fam, and I have a bit too much fun making Obi Wan suffer.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224| Cody & Ahsoka Tano, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 165
Kudos: 506





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first real attempt at writing a chaptered fic, and let me tell you it's taken me such a long time to piece this thing together. BUT I am almost completely finished. Just working on the last chapter now, so I thought I would post chapter one to give myself that extra little push of motivation.  
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Ahsoka followed close behind Obi Wan. Her grandmaster was dashing around the camp, talking to his troops, gathering information, sending messages, receiving messages. It was all very hectic, but, of course, Obi Wan exuded his normal, calming energy. She could learn something from that, Ahsoka thought. 

She tended to wear emotion on her sleeve, almost certainly due to Anakin’s teaching. Ahsoka was so used to Anakin's level of feeling that she was completely unaware of her own reactions until someone else pointed it out. Ironically, that person was usually Anakin. Ahsoka smiled fondly, stopping herself from rolling her eyes at her master’s hypocrisy, but her thoughts quickly shifted. As much as she enjoyed being with Obi Wan and learning from an extremely experienced master, Ahsoka missed Anakin. 

He had gone off on some special mission with Padmé and had forbade Ahsoka from coming with him. Usually, Anakin would let up if she bugged him enough, but this time he had been adamant that it was too dangerous for a padawan. So, she was with Obi Wan and the 212th. Which was fine, she guessed. It was strange that it was just her and Obi Wan; she felt slightly uncertain of herself without Anakin there as a buffer. But she’d learned very early on that if she simply did what Obi Wan asked, he was very pleasant. So, she vowed to follow his directions. Then, he would be able to report to Anakin that she had done well, and everything would be fine. 

Ahsoka shook her head to clear it as Obi Wan dashed off again, calling a “Come along, Ahsoka” over his shoulder. She hurried after the Jedi master, pulling her cloak tighter around her body. They were on Vandor for a stealth mission to gain intel about Separatist movement. Which was all well and good, but Vandor was an ice planet and therefore freezing cold. And it was getting dark, Ahsoka noted somewhere in the back of her mind before Obi Wan was whisked off to complete another task. 

“General. Commander Tano.” 

Obi Wan stopped and spun to face his commander, and Ahsoka did the same. Ahsoka had always respected Cody. He was efficient, followed orders, cared for and protected his general when the stubborn Jedi would allow him to. Now, the commander stood at attention, as he always did, but there was something anxious radiating from him. Ahsoka couldn’t quite place it. She glanced at Obi Wan and knew he sensed it too. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his signature took on a more urgent note of concern. 

“Cody. What’s wrong?” 

“Haven’t received word from Matrix or Faller, sir. Their check in was an hour ago.” 

Ahsoka watched her grandmaster’s face become blank, and suddenly she could barely feel him in the force. His shields were up. 

“Where were they scouting?” She asked, looking between Cody and her grandmaster, not knowing who would respond. 

“Mountain pass, just over that ridge.” Obi Wan nodded to a mountain to their right as he brought his hand to his chin, rubbing at his bottom lip. “There weren’t life forms in that region when we surveyed the planet, correct?” 

Cody shook his head slightly, “No, sir. No life forms. I tried to contact them. No response from either of their comms.” 

Ahsoka didn’t like the implications of that. If there weren’t life forms, Matrix and Faller should have no reason to miss their check in. Unless there were nonliving hostiles. Which would be bad. Ahsoka looked back to Obi Wan. He seemed to have come to a similar conclusion. 

“I’ll check into it,” the Jedi said, already making his way towards the ridge he had pointed out. Ahsoka made panicked eye contact with Cody as her grandmaster stalked away. 

“Wait, sir. Alone?” Cody sounded accusatory. Obi Wan stopped and turned, very slowly, to face them both again. He sighed. 

“I suppose not. Care to join me?” He raised an eyebrow at the two of them, a smirk appearing on his face that was probably very forced. 

For a split second, Cody’s face shifted into a tiny, satisfied smile, and Ahsoka couldn’t help but mirror it. The commander put his helmet on, “Love to, sir.” 

Obi Wan rolled his eyes and turned back to the ridge, “Let’s go, then.” 

They moved quickly, which was one of the few indications that Obi Wan was worried about his men, besides the fact that his shields had been forcefully present since he’d heard they were missing. Not that Ahsoka was complaining about the speed; she was anxious to get to the missing troops too, and it was getting colder as the sun went down. The movement was good for maintaining body temperature. 

After a few miles, Cody pulled to a stop, pointing to a place a few yards ahead of them, looking down at a map he was referencing on his arm. “There. That was where we last heard from them.” 

Ahsoka surveyed the area. It was a fairly steep stretch of ground, large boulders towered over them like trees, and snow covered the ground. She was lucky her balance was good, with the ice and rocky terrain, she could be sliding down the mountain at any moment. 

She watched Obi Wan survey their surroundings before he nodded to himself, “Alright. Spread out and look for them.” His blue eyes drilled into Ahsoka as he added, “I don’t sense anything nearby but stay on high alert.” 

Ahsoka nodded, only a little hurt that Obi Wan would think she _wouldn’t_ be on high alert. She knew it was dangerous out here. She wasn’t a child. 

Ahsoka shook herself from her thoughts, pushing those prideful feelings back like Anakin had taught her. She watched Obi Wan and Cody start their search, Cody to the left, Obi Wan up the mountain. She pulled her cloak tighter around her and started in the opposite direction, pushing her senses outside of her, feeling for the missing clones or any potential danger. 

It was a half an hour before anything of note happened. It had gotten dark, and very cold, but Ahsoka continued searching, on high alert as her grandmaster insisted, until her commlink chirped from her wrist. 

“Commander?” It was Cody. Ahsoka felt a sharp tug of anxiety pull at her stomach. 

“I’m here, Cody.” She tried to feel, sense Cody’s mood. He must have been too far away, though, as Ahsoka couldn’t get a clear read. She had no way to know what he would say next. 

“We found them. Both dead.” Cody paused, and Ahsoka closed her eyes for a moment, sending a desperate plea to the Force that they hadn’t felt any pain as emotion attempted to consume her. She shoved it away and blinked a few times. She wasn’t sure she would ever get used to people dying, but she didn’t have time for that now because Cody continued talking. "The general wants you back immediately, I’m sending you the coordinates now.” 

Ahsoka nodded, “On my way.” 

She ran, as fast as the terrain and the ice allowed, understanding the urgency of the situation. If the troopers were dead, that meant there were droids out here. Not that she couldn’t handle a couple of droids, but the fact that the clones had been spotted didn’t bode well for their stealth mission. The droids might be collecting reinforcements, gathering data on their camp, planning an attack on the unsuspecting 212th in the valley below the mountain. Ahsoka willed herself to run faster, tapping into the force to help her movements. They had to get back down there to protect the troops. 

When Obi Wan and Cody finally appeared in her view, Ahsoka was hit with far more relief than any self-respecting Jedi should feel. But she’d been on high alert, watching the force around her constantly, by herself for the last hour, and she was tired. The urgency of the situation didn’t escape her, either. They were in danger out here. She let the tendrils of the force that she’d been using to search come back into her and let out a sigh, focusing on the two men in front of her. 

The scene was far too familiar. Cody was crouched next to his fallen brothers, helmet off, waves of grief coming off him, though his face was passive. Obi Wan stood off to the side, speaking into his commlink, probably warning the camp below of their potentially compromised mission. His shields were firmly up, and Ahsoka couldn’t feel anything from him. So, that probably wasn’t good. 

She approached cautiously, intending to offer some semblance of comfort to Cody when she got a tiny spike of _danger_ in the force. She whirled to face whatever it was that had set her off, about to call out to Obi Wan, warn him. 

The sharp, unmistakable sound of a gun firing. 

She wasn’t sure what happened next. Everything was moving, she heard someone yell, and suddenly she was being tackled to the ground. Her head hit the ground and the world started to spin and she couldn’t breathe. There was a weight on top of her. She blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened, trying to shove the weight off. There were sounds, more guns firing, a lot of guns firing. Someone shouting. Ahsoka blinked faster, willing her vision to clear as she listened to a battle forming around her. 

When her vision did clear, she was met with distinct auburn hair and a brown cloak. Obi Wan. She tried to breathe. He was on top of her. And not moving. Ahsoka felt a spike of panic and her mind snapped to focus for an instant. She pushed her grandmaster away from her and rolled to her knees. Had they shot him? She stared down at his unmoving body, trying to focus, but the world was fuzzy, A reign of blaster fire forced her to turn away, and she activated her lightsaber, standing to face the threat. 

There was a group of battle droids advancing towards them and Cody was firing madly at them, ducked behind a nearby rock. Ahsoka realized he was shouting at her. 

“Commander, are you alright? Is the general okay?” He couldn’t look at her, couldn’t see Obi Wan’s unmoving body. Too busy shooting, protecting, defending. Ahsoka shook her head. 

“I’m fine,” she said. “Obi Wan’s not moving.” She deflected several blasts with her lightsaber, advancing past Cody to take cover behind a larger rock to her left. “Get him out of here. I’ll cover you.” She glanced back briefly to see Cody nodding before she stepped out from behind her rocky cover and was instantly swarmed with gunfire. 

Ahsoka felt an adrenaline induced calm overtake her and focused on keeping the blasts away from Cody, staying in front of him as he moved back to her grandmaster. She heard Cody speaking to the fallen Jedi, urgently willing him to wake, but she had to focus on the droids advancing on them. There was a troubling number of hostiles coming down the side of the mountain. But, Ahsoka didn’t really start to get concerned until a tank appeared on the horizon. They were officially outmatched. 

“Cody, we have to get out of here. Can you move him?” She shouted back at the clone. 

“I’ll make it work.” That didn’t sound great, Ahsoka noted before glancing frantically around her surroundings. There had to be somewhere to retreat to. Had to be a way out. She deflected a blast that was heading for Cody, and finally spotted a potentially safe location. 

“Cave to your left, Cody. Down the mountain. Head there,” Ahsoka commanded. And Cody moved, no complaints, just threw Obi Wan over his shoulder and started towards safety. Ahsoka stayed in front of him as he hauled her grandmaster, blocking shots that came their way, trying to take down droids when she could, ignoring the throbbing in her head. 

And finally, after what seemed like years of slow movement across the icy rocks, Cody pulled Obi Wan into the cave, and Ahsoka ducked in after them. Finally out of blaster fire for a moment, Ahsoka ran to Cody’s side as he set her grandmaster onto the cold, stone ground. 

Getting a good view of the man for the first time since they’d been attacked, Ahsoka instantly recognized the distinctive charring of a blaster shot across his shoulder. A shot meant for her, Ahsoka knew. He’d tackled her to the ground, placed himself between her and the blaster fire. Kriffing hells. Ahsoka shoved guilt from her mind and probed the unconscious man with the force. He was alive, on the brink of wakefulness. Ahsoka thanked the force for that tiny miracle before standing. The droids would be moving towards them. They needed a next step. 

Contact someone for help. That would be smart. Ahsoka activated her commlink as she approached the mouth of the cave, frequency set to the 212th’s camp. The connection went through as Ahsoka peeked around the edge of the cave, watching the battle droids advance towards them. Shit. 

“This is Commander Tano,” Ahsoka said. “Do you copy?” 

She didn’t get an immediate response, and Ahsoka felt a spike of fear. Could the Separatists have already sent a battalion to the camp? She watched the droids marching closer to their cave. They should leave. As far as Ahsoka could tell, there was no way out of the cave except for this entrance. She turned to warn Cody and was met with the most comforting sight she could have hoped for. Obi Wan was sitting up, holding his shoulder, blinking at Cody as the commander fussed over him. 

“Ahsoka,” Obi Wan’s voice was rough, but it was there, and that was good enough. She smiled at him. 

“General, I really think you should lay down,” Cody said softly, but Obi Wan seemed to be ignoring him. 

“Are you alright?” Obi Wan’s question was directed at her. Was _she_ alright? She wasn’t the one who’d just gotten shot. 

“I’m fine, Master,” Ahsoka said instead of pointing this out to him. She felt Obi Wan’s force presence checking her more thoroughly and rolled her eyes before turning back to the droids. 

Her heart dropped. 

The tank’s missile launcher was moving. Aiming. 

Directly at the mouth of their cave. Force save them. 

“GET BACK” Ahsoka commanded, though she knew it wouldn’t be enough. They wouldn’t be able to move fast enough, even if her grandmaster hadn’t just been shot. Her mind spun, she had to act quickly, get Cody and Obi Wan out of danger. 

She turned, running away from the mouth of the cave, and pushed them. As hard as she could, she pressed them back with the force as the missile fired. She prayed it was enough. Please, force, let it be enough. 

She was still in danger, she registered somewhere in the back of her mind. She wouldn’t make it away from the blast. She threw herself to the floor, fear pounding in her heart, and the cave exploded around her. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the explosion, things are fine, everything's fine

Cody blinked open his eyes. His ears were ringing, and his head throbbed. He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced him back to the floor. He lay there for a moment, trying to breathe, and took stock of himself. Head injury was possible, probable even. His limbs seemed intact, though, no pain when he tried to move them. He clenched his fists, rolled his neck to the sides. Nothing. That was good. Cody forced himself to sit up, he couldn't afford to lay there just because of some head injury. He’d been through worse. 

He blinked through the dizziness that swamped him once again, and realized it was completely dark. He activated the light on his helmet, thankful that it flickered on. It could have been damaged by the- 

Kriffing hells. Cody scanned the ground surrounding him, quickly placing Obi Wan’s limp form crumpled against the back of the cave. The commander scrambled to his feet, stumbling to the wall of the cave for balance. He couldn’t tell if the general was breathing and forced back panic. He had to focus, get to the general, assess the situation, continue. Cody moved as quickly as he could to his Jedi’s side and collapsed next to him. 

He turned Obi Wan onto his back, pressing his fingers against his neck. He picked out a heartbeat almost immediately, and Cody released a breath, feeling some tension leave him. The general looked like hell, covered in dirt, blood leaking from various scratches, blast wound across his shoulder. But he was alive, and Cody allowed himself to calm ever so slightly. 

He scanned the space for another body, smaller, younger. But there was nothing but rock in the small space. Commander Tano was nowhere to be seen. Damn it. Cody stood from his general’s side, moving cautiously towards the rock that had caved in. He knelt beside the stones and began moving them. Because Tano couldn’t be anywhere else, and he needed her alive. One by one, he pushed rocks aside, searching the debris for any indication of life. Or death. 

Cody hated how easy it was for his brain to conjure an image of the girl’s broken and rotting corpse, but he pushed the image aside and continued to move rocks. Tano was stronger than that. 

And then Cody’s mind settled into numbness. Move a rock, move another, find Tano, get her out. He didn’t allow himself to consider his unconscious general behind him or the fact that each rock he moved seemed to be bigger, heavier than the last. He had to find Tano. 

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, but he’d moved so many rocks that the fabric of his gloves had started wearing down. A noise from behind him drew his mind from its focused, thoughtless work. A soft groan. 

“General?” He questioned, pushing himself to his feet, feeling stronger than he had before. “General, are you alright?” Cody knelt beside the Jedi as Obi Wan blinked slowly. 

“Cody?” His voice was slurred, and he squinted up at Cody. The commander dimmed his light, and Obi Wan relaxed slightly. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked up at the clone. “Where’s Ahsoka?” Cody opened his mouth to respond, but Obi Wan’s eyes went wide and suddenly he was moving. “She’s hurt.” He pushed himself to his feet, wincing and swaying worryingly on his feet before rushing towards the collapsed rocks. 

Cody followed cautiously behind him, watching him carefully. Obi Wan began pulling at the rocks, throwing them with the force, wincing every time his shoulder moved. Cody knelt beside him, “General, just hold on. You’re injured, I can—” 

“I can feel her.” Obi Wan turned to face him. His voice was calm, though Cody knew it was forced. He was trying to put on the brave face Cody was so used to seeing. It wasn’t working. “We need to get her out of there. Now. Stand back.” 

Cody did. He moved to the back of the cave, trusting his general’s commands as he always did. He watched as Obi Wan raised his hands, and slowly the rocks began shifting, moving away, floating above the general as a path through the rubble slowly formed. 

Cody was fairly used to witnessing acts of the force; he’d been working with General Kenobi for a long time. But, in the cave, with his helmet’s light shining on the general’s back as he made the boulders and stones around him lift from the ground, Cody was reminded of its power. He shook his head, trying to bring his focus back to the moment at hand. 

“Cody,” Obi Wan said after a few moments. The commander moved closer and caught sight of a thin arm sticking out from the rocks. Ahsoka. Cody stepped past his general as the rest of the rocks lifted off of the young commander, and Cody pulled her gently into his arms. He didn’t look at her. Not until she was away from the collapse. 

“I’ve got her,” He said softly to Obi Wan as Cody ducked out from underneath the sheet of floating rocks hovering near the ceiling. As soon as Cody and Ahsoka were clear, the rocks dropped to the floor and suddenly Obi Wan was by his side, helping him lower the Togruta to the floor of the cave. 

“Ahsoka,” Obi Wan said softly, hand resting on her face, tapping it gently. “Can you hear me, little one?” 

Cody allowed himself to look at the young girl and regretted it almost instantly. She was covered in bruises and cuts, blood trickled from a gash across her head, her skin was far too pale, but the real problem. Cody inhaled. The angle of her back looked wrong. The clone felt his heart beating faster as his mind—conditioned to think logically, to analyze situations and evaluate injuries—realized there was no hope. They had nothing in this cave to help her. Just Cody’s GAR issued med pack. A spine injury would kill her within minutes. 

“General,” Cody said softly. Obi Wan was still holding her face. Cody’s heart ached. She wouldn’t live. Cody forced calm into his voice. “General, there’s no way.” 

Obi Wan turned to face him then. Cody wasn’t sure what he had expected from his general, but the hard-set determination in his eyes startled Cody. Obi Wan was no idiot. He had to know there wasn’t any hope. 

“She’s not gone, yet, Cody,” He sat up straighter, pushing himself up onto his knees, and carefully turning Ahsoka onto her stomach. 

“Sir?” 

“I’m going to try to heal her. I’ve never been particularly skilled with force healing, but she’ll die if I don’t try.” Obi Wan closed his eyes. “She might die anyways.” And then he was silent, hands hovering just above Ahsoka’s body, before settling on her back. 

For several moments, nothing happened, and Cody held his breath. Then, a small cracking noise sounded, and Cody watched, enraptured, as the commander’s back began to straighten. Slowly, painfully slowly, but there was no denying the change. Cody’s eyes widened. Holy stars above. Fifteen minutes later, Cody could barely tell that Ahsoka’s back had been injured. It was a miracle. She should have died. Cody let out a small breath. It seemed his Jedi would continue to surprise him until the clone’s death. 

He watched intently for any other changes in Commander Tano for another minute before a strained breath from Obi Wan drew his attention away. He looked at his general, fear tugging at the back of his mind. The Jedi’s eyes were closed, eyebrows furrowed. His face was pale, breathing heavily. Cody realized this might have been what he’d meant by “not particularly skilled with healing”. Was it hurting him? Or just difficult? Cody watched him closely as he continued to heal the Padawan on the ground. His breathing was getting increasingly erratic, and he seemed to get paler by the second. 

But, Ahsoka seemed to be improving. Her breathing was steady, and her complexion was slowly returning to normal. Cody bit his lip. He wasn’t informed enough about this force practice to know whether or not Obi Wan was in danger. He knew Ahsoka needed help, but maybe the general had done enough? He had no way to know if her spine injury was fully healed. Cody glanced between them once again. Tano seemed better. 

Erring on the side of caution, Cody placed a hand on his general’s back, attempting to gently alert him of his concern. Obi Wan shifted ever so slightly, but his focus didn’t seem to be broken. Cody could feel his heartbeat from his back, thundering far too quickly considering he was seated and unmoving. 

“General?” Cody said softly. “General, can you hear me?” 

Cody got no response, but he watched his general carefully. He glanced between the Jedi Master and the young Togruta on the cave floor; he had to protect them both. Cody chewed softly on his bottom lip and inspected them, waiting for some sort of indication that he should act. When blood started to trickle from the general’s nose, Cody decided that was enough. 

“General Kenobi,” he said, raising his voice slightly. Nothing. Cody stared at his Jedi for a moment before wrapping an arm around Obi Wan’s chest and pulling him away from Ahsoka. 

As soon as he’d been moved, Obi Wan snapped to attention, gasping as though he’d been submerged in water. Cody felt a brief spike of panic and prayed to the stars that there weren’t any consequences for disrupting the force ritual. 

“Are you alright, sir?” 

“Oh yes, I’m fine,” Obi Wan said distractedly, pushing himself out of Cody’s hold and turning back to Ahsoka. He was still breathing heavily, and Cody didn’t miss his hands shaking as he raised a hand to wipe the blood from his face. 

Obi Wan didn’t seem concerned, but that didn’t necessarily mean Cody shouldn’t be. He watched the general closely as he leaned over Ahsoka, placing his hand against her forehead. 

“Sir,” Cody warned. He really didn’t think the Jedi should attempt to do that again. 

“She’ll live,” Obi Wan said, pulling his shaky hand away from her forehead. He was still panting, but it was becoming softer. “The spine is intact, and I managed to mend a lot of the internal injuries. Some cracked ribs that will hurt, but-” Obi Wan faded off and pushed himself up onto his knees and shrugged off his cloak. 

“Sir?’ Cody watched as Obi Wan removed the outer layers of his robes until he was left with one thin layer of brown fabric. Cody blinked. It was freezing. 

“Take off your armor,” Obi Wan said. 

“Pardon?” Cody choked. Obi Wan raised an eyebrow at him, clearly unimpressed. 

So, Cody took his armor off and started shivering almost instantly as the freezing cave air hit his skin. He felt very exposed, sitting there wearing only his blacks. 

“Sir, what exactly are you doing?” He tried to keep his teeth from chattering. 

“It won’t matter that I just healed her if she freezes to death. Help me put your armor on her.” Obi Wan commanded calmly, as he did everything else. 

Oh. Cody nodded. Of course, Ahsoka needed the warmth. She couldn’t move. He didn’t allow himself to consider that he would likely freeze to death, even if he moved about within the cave. It was alright. Ahsoka was a Jedi. He was just a clone. 

Cody reminded himself of that fact and helped his Jedi, carefully lifting Ahsoka’s limp body as Obi Wan gingerly slid pieces of armor into place. Once their task was complete, and the general was satisfied that Ahsoka would be warm enough, Obi Wan shoved his robes and cloak at Cody. 

“Here,” he said simply. “Can’t have you freezing, either, can we?” 

“All due respect, sir, I’m not taking your clothes,” Cody said. He was not about to let his self-sacrificing, idiot general get himself killed. Even if Cody was already shaking like a leaf. He was supposed to protect his Jedi, and he would do so. He was just a clone. 

“I can regulate my temperature, Cody,” Obi Wan said, an eyebrow raised and some glint of amusement in his eye. Cody blinked, noticing that the Jedi was, in fact, perfectly still while Cody was shivering violently. Hm. 

“Right.” Cody took the robes and quickly put them on, relishing in the warmth. He tried to stop shaking. “Thank you, sir.” 

Obi Wan smiled at him before leaning against the wall of the cave. Cody settled beside him and looked down at the Jedi Padawan who was now wearing his armor. They sat in silence for a moment, and Cody began to process their situation. Trapped in a cave on a Separatist planet with an injured Padawan. 

“We can’t go back out there,” Obi Wan stated, clearly thinking along the same lines. “Not without some form of back up.” 

“No,” the clone agreed. They were outnumbered. Even if the droids believed them dead, the element of surprise wouldn’t be enough to keep them alive against the hordes of droids they’d seen coming down that hill. 

Obi Wan looked down at his commlink. “No signal. They must be jamming communications. I alerted the troops of the situation before we were attacked, but we can’t rely on them coming to help us. They could already be under fire.” 

Cody held in a groan. His brothers were down there. They would have no warning of what was coming. Besides Obi Wan’s brief contact with them before everything had gone to hell, of course. He hoped they’d contacted someone for help. Cody shook his head, shoving his worry from his mind. 

“How long do you think we’re stuck in here?” He asked, glancing around the cave. Even if the 212th contacted the republic, got reinforcements, and survived the attack that would reign down on their camp, the chances that anyone would have time or resources to fight their way to this specific location and rescue them was very low. 

“I don’t know,” Obi Wan sighed. He gestured to Cody’s armor, currently keeping the unconscious Togruta warm. “You have rations?” 

“Not nearly enough for the three of us.” Cody scoffed. 

“I can go for a few days without food. You and Ahsoka can share it.” Obi Wan said. 

Cody almost brought up that Obi Wan was planning to rely almost fully on the force for his basic human needs, but he kept his mouth shut. Honestly, the commander didn’t know much about the strange power the Jedi possessed, but General Skywalker and Commander Tano had warned him on multiple occasions that Obi Wan’s tendency to substitute actually taking care of himself with the force was dangerous, especially for long periods of time. Unfortunately, it seemed as if they didn’t have a choice, so Cody didn’t mention it. For now, at least. 

He glanced over at his general. He was looking up at the roof of the cave, seeming deep in thought. Probably trying to work out some way out, without getting the three of them killed or making the situation worse for the 212th in the valley below them. 

Cody wrapped his arms around himself, trying to convince himself that everything would be fine. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin finds out/the cave crew are absolutely too wholesome for their own good

“General Skywalker.” 

Anakin turned as one of his troopers addressed him. He’d been sent on a mission to protect Padmé as she negotiated with some planet’s council of leaders for some resource. He wasn’t really sure what she was doing, honestly, but he was glad for the time with his wife. He’d been constantly busy with fighting battles or protecting this leader or saving that random species or whatever else the Jedi Council decided he needed to be doing, and Padmé was consumed with her senator duties. Such was war, Anakin guessed, but he hadn’t gotten to see his wife in far too long. And even though they were both working, just seeing her was enough to ease his mind. 

“What do you need, Beckum?” He forced his mind away from how glad he was to be here with Padmé. He still had responsibilities, unfortunately. 

“Just received word from the Council, sir. About the 212th,” The clone sounded nervous, and Anakin was instantly on edge. Obi Wan and Ahsoka were both with the 212th. If there was something wrong... 

“And?” Anakin tried to keep his impatience from his tone, but worry was slamming against his mind. 

“They’ve reported that General Kenobi, and Commanders Tano and Cody have not been seen in over 15 hours. Their last check in was to inform the camp of some sort of attack that had occurred, killing two of their men. The troops have requested back up, sir.” 

“Why am I just being informed now?” Anakin clenched his fists. Knowing that it wouldn’t work, Anakin reached out in the force, trying to communicate through his bond with Ahsoka. Nothing. Anakin cursed under his breath. He’d sent Ahsoka away with Obi Wan. For what? Alone time with Padmé that wasn’t even really alone time? He’d _lied_ to his padawan. Now she was missing. 

At least his master was with her, Anakin tried to reason. He would keep her safe, Anakin knew, or die trying. The thought wasn’t a comfort. He tried his bond with Obi Wan. Again, nothing; they were too far away. Halfway across the galaxy on Vandor. Anakin tried to keep his breathing calm. 

“The Jedi Council thought it would be best if you remained unaware until they were sending reinforcements to the 212th’s location, sir.” 

Anakin could have screamed. 15 hours, they’d been gone. The Council was just sending reinforcements _now_? If they hadn’t found shelter, they’d be dead already. Vandor was dangerously cold. Anakin clenched and unclenched his left fist, pulsing with anger he couldn’t dispel. Not that he tried. 

He had to get to Vandor. 

The 501st could protect Padmé fine. She wasn’t in any real danger, anyways. The negotiations had been peaceful so far, despite what he’d told Ahsoka. He would just have to convince the Council of the fact that his presence here wasn’t necessary. 

Anakin stormed out of the room, and Beckum followed behind him. “Tell Rex to meet me on the bridge of my ship.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

::: 

Obi Wan tapped his foot against the floor of the cave. They’d been in this karking cave for close to 20 hours, and Obi Wan was not used to having nothing to occupy his time. 

There was always something. Battles to be fought, reports to fill out, strategies to make, council meetings to attend. His life was basically a long list of tasks he needed to complete. But there was nothing here in the cave. He’d already gone through every conceivable plan of escape and decided that each of them was either too dangerous for Ahsoka, or too dangerous for the 212th and the Republic at large. And now he was sitting here, not able to do anything, just waiting to be rescued. 

He was miserable. 

And, of course, his impending force exhaustion was looming on the horizon. He could already feel a headache forming. It hadn’t even been a full day. Obi Wan suppressed a sigh. He’d healed Ahsoka, of course, which had been strenuous, but still. Obi Wan would have liked to think he was stronger than this. 

What was worse, Cody had somehow found out that Obi Wan’s current level of force usage wasn’t sustainable long term. He kept glancing at the Jedi when he thought Obi Wan wasn’t paying attention. The concern was appreciated, obviously. It was nice to know that Cody cared. But it left Obi Wan on edge, overly aware of everything he was doing. And there wasn’t anything to be done about the situation anyways; they just had to hope that help arrived soon. 

Obi Wan glanced over at his commander, considering it some petty form of revenge he knew he should discourage. It wasn’t very Jedi-like. But Obi Wan was bored and paying attention to Cody was better than paying attention to the fact that he had nothing to do. 

Cody was staring down at Ahsoka, arms wrapped around himself. Nothing much had changed, but Obi Wan probed Cody in the force anyways. It was better to be cautious, he supposed. His commander was cold, which Obi Wan supposed he should have known already. His robes were warm, but certainly not made to withstand Vandor’s night temperatures for extended periods of time. Their cave provided shelter from the wind, but still. It would be freezing for Cody, without his protective armor or the force to keep him warm. More troubling though, was that Obi Wan also sensed some sort of pain that was plaguing his commander. A minor injury, probably from the explosion. He could do something about that. 

“Are you alright?” He asked simply. Cody jumped slightly and turned to look at him. They hadn’t spoken in quite some time, so Obi Wan knew he really shouldn’t fault the commander for his surprise. He stifled his amusement. 

“Of course, sir.” Cody furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. 

“You’re hurt,” Obi Wan said, unimpressed. He’d given the clone a chance to be honest, but that hadn’t gone well. Such was Cody’s way, though. It wasn’t a problem until he was on the brink of death. 

“I’m fine, sir. Not nearly as bad as you or Commander Tano,” Cody said. Obi Wan blinked. The clone was right, he supposed. But Obi Wan was ignoring his own pain thanks to the force, and Ahsoka was unconscious. Cody was the only one without some form of relief, but they could fix that. 

“There should be something for the pain in your med pack,” Obi Wan said, gesturing to Ahsoka’s form in front of them. 

“Sir,” Cody started, but Obi Wan shot him a look and the commander quieted. Obi Wan was almost grateful for his clone’s reluctance. It gave him a purpose, something to do. After several more moments of Obi Wan staring at him expectantly, eyebrow raised, Cody moved over to Ahsoka, digging through his armor to get the pain medication. “Really should save this for Ahsoka.” 

“She’s fine, Cody,” Obi Wan reminded him. She could regulate her pain, as he could. Unfortunately, it was one of the first things Anakin had taught her. Obi Wan frowned and pushed the thought from his mind. He needed to stay present. “Take the meds.” 

Cody did, with no further complaints. Obi Wan felt rejuvenated after even that smallest task. He really was so bored. 

The Jedi watched Cody place the pain killer back into his things before returning to sit on the wall with Obi Wan. 

“You need rest,” the Jedi said after a while longer. The commander had to be tired. They’d been busy with their mission, and Obi Wan was almost certain Cody hadn’t slept in far too long. 

“Don’t want to freeze to death, sir.” Cody laughed softly, perhaps picking up on Obi Wan’s desperate craving for anything to do, raising an eyebrow and glancing at Obi Wan. “Body temperature drops when you sleep.” 

The Jedi hummed, “I wouldn’t let you freeze to death, Cody.” 

They sat in silence for a few moments, and Obi Wan continued tapping his foot against the floor. He looked over at Cody again. As much as he was seeking out tasks, Obi Wan’s concern was sincere. The clone looked tired. Obi Wan hoped he would accept his implied offer. 

A small noise from Ahsoka drew the Jedi from his musings. His foot tapping ceased as he felt for Ahsoka in the force; she was close to consciousness. 

A small worry Obi Wan hadn’t realized he’d been feeling fell away. He knew his healing had done something, but he hadn’t lied when he said he wasn’t skilled. But she was waking, and that meant she was better, if not fully recovered. 

The subject of Cody’s wellbeing would wait. For now. 

“Ahsoka,” Obi Wan said to Cody, nodding to the Togruta and pushing himself off of the wall of the cave. He moved to kneel beside her, and Cody understood his vague direction, crawling around to Ahsoka’s other side and carefully dimming the light on his helmet. 

Obi Wan nodded his thanks at the commander and flooded Ahsoka with feelings of peace and comfort in the force. He didn’t want her panicking and disrupting her remaining injuries. 

As Obi Wan watched, Ahsoka’s blue eyes flickered open, and the Jedi Master exhaled. 

“Master?” The word was slurred, and her eyes were glazed over, trying to focus on Obi Wan’s face. 

“Hello there,” Obi Wan said gently, continuing to send her peaceful feelings through the force. 

The Togruta blinked up at him and her gaze shifted to Cody. She gave him a sluggish smile, “Hey, Cody. You guys okay?” 

Obi Wan felt a smile pulling at his face and glanced at Cody. The clone was smiling as well, looking down at Ahsoka. It was good to see her awake and talking. 

“Yes, sir.” Cody said. “Perfectly fine.” 

“How do you feel, Ahsoka?” Obi Wan asked, poking and prodding his grandpadawan in the force. He felt a flicker of amusement from the Togruta at his mother-henning, and Obi Wan found it oddly comforting. 

“I’ve been better. What happened exactly?” Ahsoka’s speech was becoming more cohesive, and Obi Wan could feel her dispelling some of her pain in the force. That was good. He settled into a more comfortable sitting position next to Ahsoka. 

“Cave collapsed on you,” he said, mind conjuring an image of Ahsoka from hours ago, pale and broken and bleeding. Obi Wan pushed it from his mind and searched the girl’s face for any signs of continued discomfort. 

“Oh, yeah,” Ahsoka said, a self-satisfied smile forming on her face. 

“Why in the force are you smiling?” Obi Wan scoffed, though he was far more amused than anything. She had so much Anakin in her. It usually frightened him—his padawan was an unconventional Jedi to say the least—but in that moment, it was a great relief. 

Cody snickered and moved back to his position on the wall as Ahsoka tried to wipe the smile off of her face. It all felt very normal, and Obi Wan relished in the feeling. Taking a moment to center himself in the force, he let the peace he felt sooth his restless mind as Ahsoka tried to find some sort of response to his question. 

“You- I mean, it was pretty cool,” Ahsoka managed finally. 

“You almost died, Commander,” Cody laughed, and Obi Wan smiled softly. It was good to see him calmer as well. “Not sure you and I have the same definition of cool.” 

“Wait, I almost died?” Ahsoka tried to sit up, winced, and fell back to the cave floor. 

“Careful,” Obi Wan instructed gently. “Cracked ribs.” 

Ahsoka nodded, and Obi Wan felt a tendril of gratitude in the force. Her eyebrows furrowed, “How long was I out?” 

“About 20 hours,” Obi Wan said. He glanced around the cave, wishing he had something even remotely comfortable to give her to rest her head against. There was nothing, though. She would just have to manage on the cold, hard rock. 

“That’s not even a full day,” Ahsoka smirked, though Obi Wan could feel a bit of apprehension from her force signature. “I would hardly call that almost dying.” 

Obi Wan made eye contact with Cody, and the commander blinked at him. They would save the truth of her injury for a later time, when they were out of this cave. She didn’t need to worry about what could have happened, Obi Wan reasoned. There was enough going on as it was. 

“You warm enough?” He asked. 

“I’m fine, Master,” Ahsoka said, lifting one armor covered arm. “Cody has me covered, I guess.” She glanced over at the clone, eyes narrowing. “You’ve got to be cold, Cody. You can take this back, if you need.” 

“I’m alright, sir,” Cody smiled at her. “Thank you, though.” 

“You know what he does need?” Obi Wan said, smirking as he made eye contact with Cody. He saw the annoyance surface in the clone’s eyes as he registered what Obi Wan was referring to. “Sleep.” 

Ahsoka turned her head to stare accusingly at Cody, who buried his head in his knees. The padawan laughed, and though it quickly shifted to a gasp of pain, a smile remained on her face. Cody, effectively guilt tripped by Ahsoka’s pain, looked up at them and glared, but Obi Wan knew his resolve had crumbled. Especially since Ahsoka was still staring at him with big, expectant, blue eyes. 

“Come here, Cody,” Obi Wan said. “I’ll make sure you don’t freeze to death.” 

The commander sighed, but a smile crossed his face and he pulled himself to his feet and came to sit next to Obi Wan, “Fine.” 

Ahsoka actually clapped as the clone settled into a laying position, earning her some half-annoyed grumbles. Obi Wan just smiled and placed a hand on Cody’s shoulder, closing his eyes. He would have to focus, but he should be able to regulate the clone’s temperature if he thought of his commander as an extension of himself. It took a few moments, but eventually Obi Wan opened his eyes. Cody was staring up at him, looking immeasurably more comfortable than he had before. 

“Thank you, sir,” he said softly. The Jedi merely nodded, and Cody rolled onto his side. Obi Wan felt a flicker of concern from him but dismissed it. Cody needed rest. He could handle temperature regulation for a few hours; there was no need for alarm. 

Ahsoka yawned on Obi Wan’s other side, and he glanced down at her. “You should rest too, young one.” 

Ahsoka nodded and carefully curled in on herself, using her own arm as a pillow. Obi Wan sent her another tendril of peace, laced with a minor sleep suggestion, and Ahsoka’s breathing deepened as she slipped into sleep. 

Obi Wan smiled, inhaling and exhaling slowly. He felt strangely content, despite everything, with Cody laying to his right and Ahsoka on his left. 

Without really thinking about it, the Jedi began rubbing small circles into Cody’s shoulder as he had for Anakin when his padawan was young and easily frightened. His other hand came to rest on Ahsoka’s head, and Obi Wan smiled to himself. He would watch over them. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin is literally a disaster but he's trying, Obi Wan continues to neglect his personal well being, and Ahsoka just really wants to help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the one where I start playing fast and loose with how the force works hehehhh. Kind of from this point on, it's is a lot of my interpretation of how certain things might happen/feel via the force, but I honestly have no idea. So, let's just chock it up to creative liberties and pretend I know what I'm doing, yeah?  
> Also, just to let you know the quotations in italics are spoken through the force, just to clarify that in case it isn't clear!
> 
> ALSO (sorry this is so long) I just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading, leaving kudos, and commenting! It makes me really happy to see that people are enjoying my story, and I really appreciate you guys! Anyways, without any more delay, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!

Anakin hadn’t really expected the Council to allow him to go to Vandor, but it would have been nice if, just once, he was able to do the right thing with their approval, rather than going against their direct orders. Even after Rex’s assurance that he could protect Senator Amidala, they’d insisted the Jedi stay with Padmé, assuring him that they were sending Master Plo and the 104th to assist with the problem on Vandor. But Anakin knew what that meant. 

It meant the 104th would be fighting the Separatists on their own kriffing planet with everything they had, only to attempt a desperate retreat after they’d lost a hundred men. No one would have a spare second to go looking for his padawan and master; they would continue to be pushed back on the priorities list until their chances of survival were close to none. And Anakin would not allow for that. He was not letting them die alone on some force forsaken ice planet. 

“Anakin.” Padmé had followed him back to his room, noticing his distress after he’d stormed off his ship. He’d told her everything, of course. She was less than keen on the idea of Anakin disobeying the Council again, but she hadn’t put up much of a fight either. There’d been a fear in her eyes that Anakin was very familiar with. He forgot sometimes that Padmé was friends with Obi Wan and Ahsoka as well. 

Anakin shook his head and began dashing around his room, collecting his belongings. He had to move quickly. He had to pack, he had to leave, Vandor was ages away, all the way across the galaxy. 

“Anakin,” Padmé said again, a little louder. Anakin turned to look at her, and she placed a hand on his cheek. “They’ll be alright. They’re stronger than you give them credit for.” 

Anakin closed his eyes, smiling slightly before taking Padmé’s hand from his cheek and kissing it gently. “Thank you. I’m sorry I have to leave.” 

“Don’t be,” Padmé said softly, shaking her head. “Just bring them back safe, okay?” Anakin nodded. She was too good to him. And then she was pulling him into a hug. “I have to get back to the meeting, but it was lovely seeing you.” 

“I love you,” Anakin said, burying his face in Padmé’s hair. 

“I love you, too.” And Padmé was gone. Anakin was alone in his room. He stood still for a brief moment, mourning the absence of his wife before his brain turned on again and he was moving. 

He was going to fly to Vandor, find Obi Wan and Ahsoka, and rescue them from any peril they might be in. And then he was getting them off of that kriffing planet. 

::: 

Obi Wan lost track of time, sitting in the dim cave, with just the light of Cody’s helmet illuminating the space, but it felt like days had passed. 

He’d occupied himself with helping Cody sleep for as long as he could. But the commander had gotten up hours ago and was now pacing around the cave in a noble attempt to keep himself warm. Ahsoka had been drifting in and out of sleep since she’d initially woken up, and Obi Wan sat beside her, trying to ignore the exhaustion that had become rather insistent over the past few hours. 

It was becoming difficult to maintain his temperature, his head was pounding, and Obi Wan didn’t think he’d ever craved sleep so badly. But he was fine. He was really starting to worry about Cody, though. 

The clone was working very hard to pretend he was fine. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have believed him. He was clenching his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering, and the determined pace of his steps gave the impression that he was in control of the situation. But Obi Wan could feel him. He was freezing and exhausted and scared and in pain, and Obi Wan wanted nothing more than to help him. 

But he couldn’t even maintain his own temperature, much less poor Cody’s. Obi Wan sighed, shoving shame and guilt into the force and focused. He was better than this. There had to be something he could do. He watched Cody walk, trying to think. He supposed he could always just give Cody his heat, regulate the commander’s temperature instead of his own— 

Obi Wan sat up. 

“Cody come here,” he said. How had he not thought of this before? If he could switch off between maintaining his own temperature and keeping Cody warm, they might be able to last longer. It might be a touch difficult, and Cody would never allow it, but that was hardly relevant. He was tired of watching his commander slowly freeze to death. 

Cody approached him, rubbing his hands together in a sad attempt to warm them. “Yes, sir?” 

“You’re freezing. Come here,” Obi Wan gestured to the ground beside him. Cody sat down, a look of slight confusion crossing his face. Once he was settled, Obi Wan slowly wrapped his arms around the commander. He felt Cody stiffen, but eventually he relaxed into the embrace as Obi Wan slowly transferred his warmth to the clone. 

He hoped Cody would assume it came from Obi Wan’s natural body heat, rather than the force. There was no way Cody would allow him to continue if he found out what Obi Wan was actually doing. But it seemed Cody was oblivious, leaning more heavily into Obi Wan’s side as he slowly stopped shaking. 

“Rex cannot know about this,” Cody said after a few moments of silence. 

“Of course,” Obi Wan chuckled, feeling the cold air of the cave hit him fully as his energy was directed to helping Cody. It was kriffing freezing. Obi Wan clenched his muscles, desperately working to keep himself from shivering. The commander couldn’t know. 

He was warm, though, and Obi Wan could feel how much calmer Cody felt. That was what mattered. Obi Wan could manage fine. 

::: 

Ahsoka blinked open her eyes and pain greeted her, as it had every time she’d woken. She had to carefully brandish the force to diminish the pain in her ribs, but other than that her injuries were minor. A couple of bruises, some scrapes. She wasn’t very mobile, but Cody’s armor was keeping her warm and she felt relatively good, considering everything. 

She glanced around the cave, not expecting anything to have changed. She found that this was only mostly true. Nothing major had changed. They were still stuck in the cave, alone, and bored and cold. But Obi Wan had wrapped himself around Cody, and that was definitely new. 

The two were huddled together, sitting against the wall of the cave. Cody’s eyes were closed, but she could feel him thinking, so he wasn’t asleep. She had the brief thought that it was pretty cute, before Obi Wan made eye contact with her and she was reminded why exactly something like the sight in front of her would be happening. Cody was freezing. 

Ahsoka looked at Obi Wan. The Jedi Master’s face was calm, as always, but something wasn’t right with him. He was too rigid, too stationary. Ahsoka probed her grandmaster in the force, expecting to be confronted with worry for Cody. That would have made sense, considering their position and the clone’s vulnerability. But Obi Wan’s shields were up. She couldn’t feel anything. 

Ahsoka furrowed her eyebrows. Why would he put his shields up? That seemed like a waste of his force reserve, considering their current situation. He hadn’t been shielded at all since she’d woken up the first time. She watched him carefully. Why now? 

After a while, his posture seemed to relax, and Ahsoka let out a breath as his shields fell. She could feel him warming himself with the force, and she had only had a moment to consider why he would have been cold before Cody started to shake in his arms, and Ahsoka realized what was going on. 

The commander scooted closer to her grandmaster, rubbing at his arms as Obi Wan’s force signature retreated from the clone. Ahsoka guessed that Cody didn’t know what the Jedi was doing, or he would have been up in arms. 

_“_ _Master_ _?_ _”_ Ahsoka sent with the force. She would keep his secret for now. Obi Wan looked up from the ground where his gaze had been fixed and met her gaze. She was hit with a wave of exhaustion in the force. What the hells? 

_“I have to, Ahsoka,”_ Obi Wan stated, as if it was the most logical thing in the world . “ _He’ll freeze to death.”_

_“_ _So_ _will you, Master.”_ Ahsoka reminded him, prodding at his force signature. “ _You can’t just_ _stop_ _warming yourself.”_

Obi Wan shook his head almost imperceptibly and looked away from her again and she caught a twinge of frustration from him. Ahsoka ignored it. Anakin had taught her that Obi Wan didn’t do well with people actually giving a damn about him, but she didn’t particularly care how he felt. She just wanted to ensure that he was okay. 

Something wasn’t adding up. He’d been able to monitor himself and Cody before. Why was he so tired? She’d known Obi Wan to go days without sleep, using the force to keep himself from experiencing any sort of discomfort. It hadn’t even been two full days, as far as Ahsoka could tell, and he was straining himself with keeping just one of them warm. She sent a vague question to him with the force. 

She could almost hear the sigh in Obi Wan’s force signature. “ _Cody wasn’t_ _exaggerating_ _when he said you almost died. Your spine was broken_ _. I healed you.”_

Ahsoka stared at him. What? Healing was supposed to be insanely difficult unless you’d gone through years and years of training like the force healers at the Jedi Temple had. Obi Wan had healed her? And a broken spine wasn’t just a small injury. He’d saved her. She felt her mouth fall open. He didn’t-- she wasn’t... Ahsoka’s mind spun. So, this was her fault? 

“ _Not your fault,”_ Obi Wan’s voice was sharp in her head. “ _Absolutely not your fault. Yo_ _u did brilliantly, young one._ _”_ She could feel his gratitude, leaking from him in waves . It was almost overwhelming. He was _proud_ of her. Ahsoka felt her heart clench. She wasn’t used to being able to feel so many of Obi Wan’s emotions; his shields were almost always up. 

“ _How can I help you?”_ She asked. Obi Wan fell silent , and Ahsoka thought he wrapped his arms tighter around Cody. Ahsoka racked her mind for some solution. She couldn’t let Obi Wan waste away like he seemed inclined to. “ _I can give him this armor back. You could teach me to regulate my temperature.”_

Obi Wan looked up at her, and she could feel the shock pulsing in him before it faded, and she was consumed by his weary, desperate hope. Then that, too, faded into the force. 

The Jedi Master merely nodded, though, and Ahsoka allowed herself to breathe. She forgot sometimes that her grandmaster was human. He seemed so untouchable. But here he was, shields down, hugging his commander, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to protect them all. Very, very human. 

Obi Wan tapped Cody’s shoulder and slid out from behind the clone, “Give me one moment, Cody. I want to try something.” Ahsoka didn’t miss the disappointment from Cody, but the commander concealed it well, standing and starting to pace around the cave to keep warm. Her grandmaster pushed himself off of the wall and made his way to sit in front of her, settling into a meditative position. Ahsoka mimicked him, wincing as she sat up. After giving her a moment to deal with the spike of pain, Obi Wan rested his hands, palms up, on Ahsoka’s knees. 

“Give me your hands, padawan.” He said softly. 

She did. She felt Obi Wan’s force presence wrap around her consciousness. It was strange that it wasn’t Anakin, but Obi Wan was familiar and calm, no trace of the emotion she’d felt from him earlier. 

“Relax, try to pull the force around you. Concentrate on the feeling of warmth.” 

Ahsoka did as he said, trying to wrap a blanket of the force around her. Obi Wan’s signature pushed and prodded at her, guiding her to the right feeling, until Ahsoka felt her cold face become warmer. 

“ _Good_ _,_ _”_ Obi Wan said in the force, sending her a wave of encouragement before slowly withdrawing himself from her mind. 

The cold threatened to consume her again as Obi Wan’s presence left, but she held desperately onto the feeling of warmth she’d created. It wasn’t nearly as effective as when Obi Wan had molded her signature and guided her through the process, but her face was much warmer than it had been. Ahsoka concentrated, trying to warm herself even more. If she could get this right, they would all have a greater chance of surviving. She tried to shape the force around her, as Obi Wan had, and she felt a little improvement. 

“Open your eyes,” Ahsoka heard Obi Wan say. She did, coming out of her meditation. The cold assaulted her face again. “That was very good for your first attempt. How did it feel?” Obi Wan asked, sitting cross-legged in front of her. 

“Okay, I think.” Ahsoka rubbed at her temples. “My head kind of hurts.” 

“That’s not uncommon. You’re training the force to do something for you that you haven’t before. It takes some time to get used to.” Obi Wan smiled softly before instructing, “Try it without my help.” 

Ahsoka closed her eyes and settled into the force. She could feel Obi Wan observing her, but the presence wasn’t demanding. Just patient and comforting. 

Ahsoka felt out, trying to mimic what Obi Wan had helped her to do. Slowly, she was able to mold it and she felt her face become ever so slightly warmer. She latched onto that warmth and tried to build it up, getting it close to what she’d had before. She felt Obi Wan’s presence enter her mind again, and he gently shifted her force signature. 

“ _Try that.”_

And then he was gone again. Ahsoka held onto that specific feeling and found that it was much easier and much warmer. She held the blanket there for a long time, though her head was starting to hurt fairly badly. She wanted to get used to the feeling, so she could conjure it again. After she thought she’d gotten it, Ahsoka let herself relax before calling upon the force again. She slowly molded it around her and felt herself warm. 

Ahsoka opened her eyes and looked up at Obi Wan, confident that she could perform the task herself. He was smiling at her, “You learn quickly, padawan. It took Anakin at least three days to get that down.” 

Ahsoka beamed and began to remove Cody’s armor, attempting to avoid moving her torso too much. “I think, if I just continue to meditate and focus on it, I can make sure I don’t freeze for a while.” She looked over at Cody, who was watching them silently from the back wall of the cave. “Cody, you can take this back.” 

“Are you sure, sir?” Cody glanced at Obi Wan, though he was addressing Ahsoka, as if asking for permission from the Jedi. Ahsoka glanced at her grandmaster as well. Obi Wan just nodded, rubbing at his mouth with his hand. She could feel his worry but overriding that was the all-encompassing fatigue. He’d felt so strong just moments ago, when he’d been helping her, but now he felt small. Ahsoka didn’t like it. He wasn’t supposed to feel small. He was Obi Wan Kenobi. 

She pushed her apprehension into the force and continued taking off the armor as Cody came to kneel beside her, placing the pieces onto himself. This was a good plan, she assured herself. This way, Obi Wan could focus on himself and Cody would be fine. 

She heard Cody and Obi Wan talking as she slowly lowered herself to the floor and settled into the force again. Their voices fell away as she called the force around her like she had before, and her body warmed. She could stay like this for a while. Ahsoka breathed in and out, focusing on the force around her. Until they got rescued, if she had to. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi Wan gets worseeeeeee

Obi Wan was running out of time. He recognized that. After helping Ahsoka, his headache had spiked and there was now a constant, sharp pain slamming against his temples. The wound on his shoulder was beginning to hurt as his control of the force slipped away. It was becoming hard to concentrate on much of anything, and he felt vaguely faint. All in all, it was not an ideal situation. 

It had been a few hours since Ahsoka had settled into her meditation, and Obi Wan had followed suit in the hopes that meditation would help to center him in the force and give him more strength. It became clear very quickly that was not going to be the case. Rather than the comforting, relaxing presence of the force he usually felt while meditating, Obi Wan was greeted with chaos. As soon as he’d slipped into meditation, he’d felt worse. The force was agonizing, pushing and pulling his mind to different directions. He’d felt energized for a brief and shining moment before he started feeling rather sick and brought himself quickly out of meditation. 

Obi Wan was no stranger to force exhaustion. He’d dealt with it for most of his life, as he desperately attempted to prove himself as a Jedi. But he’d never gotten this bad before. Meditating in the force had never felt like _that._ It was concerning, Obi Wan admitted. But that wasn’t what was going to kill him. 

The fact that cold was beginning to seep through his shaky attempt at temperature regulation was the more pressing issue. Obi Wan didn’t allow himself to become too concerned, though. He wasn’t freezing yet. He could hold this up for a while longer... Still. 

Obi Wan stood up from his position leaning against the wall with Cody. They’d settled there once again after Ahsoka had slipped into meditation. Cody had made some comment about Obi Wan’s “amazing teaching ability” which Obi Wan had brushed off, reminding the commander that he had, in fact, taught the legendary Jedi disaster that was Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka was just a brilliant student. And they’d fallen silent. Until Obi Wan stood. Then Cody’s eyebrows furrowed in concern and he spoke. 

“You alright, General?” He asked, moving to push himself to his feet. 

“Fine, Cody.” Obi Wan gestured for the clone to remain seated and began to walk around the room. If he could build up body heat while he was still partially in control, it might be able to carry over and help him to maintain some semblance of warmth when his temperature maintenance fell apart. It seemed logical to Obi Wan’s somewhat cloudy, exhausted mind, but he didn’t know if it would hold up in practice. 

Cody remained silent for a few moments. “You’re not fine, sir,” he said finally. Obi Wan sighed. 

“No, perhaps not.” No use lying at this point. He could feel his hold on the force slipping. It was getting rather cold rather quickly. He would be a shivering mess in a few moments. Obi Wan continued to walk. “Not much to be done about it, unfortunately.” 

“Sir,” Cody started, but his voice faded. Because there really wasn’t much to be done. It was a terribly hopeless feeling. Obi Wan tried to avoid it at all costs, but at least he wasn’t having to worry about someone else. It was just his own life on the line. That was somewhat of a comfort. 

Obi Wan felt Cody’s eyes on him as he walked. He wasn’t really sure what the commander was trying to accomplish by watching him, but if Cody thought it was the right thing to do, Obi Wan wasn’t about to stop him. It didn’t really matter anyways. 

Twenty minutes later, Obi Wan thought he was going to be sick if he continued trying to hold the force up around himself. He could barely see, the world was spinning, his head pounded, his stomach churned. It was over. 

Sighing deeply, Obi Wan gave up. He let his protective power drop and the cold assaulted him. He was shivering in seconds, and Cody was by his side the next instant. 

“General,” He said, eyes full of some sort of panic. Obi Wan realized he couldn’t even feel Cody in the force without concentrating. That was a touch concerning. 

Instead of acknowledging that fact, Obi Wan straightened his posture, though everything in him told him to scrunch in on himself and try to conserve heat. “I am, inconveniently, entirely spent.” His teeth chattered between his words, and Obi Wan’s brain was quick to remind him that he was pathetically weak. Obi Wan clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering and tried to think of something else. 

He was going to die here, the Jedi realized somewhere in the back of his mind. That wasn’t much of an improvement to his previous line of thinking. The Jedi shook his head and tried to dispel it, though it was a bit harder without the force there to take it away from him. It lingered, and Obi Wan felt a touch of fear before he focused in on Cody in front of him. He had to distract himself, keep himself from giving into panic. Fear led to the dark side. 

Cody was staring at him, and it was clear, even without the force, that the commander’s mind was working overtime, trying to find some solution to the problem. Some way to help, to keep him alive. 

And then Obi Wan could feel something. Tugging at his mind. It hurt. Force, it hurt, it was loud and bright and far too much. Obi Wan’s head spun. He felt himself tipping forward, he collided with Cody. The feeling kept pulling, pleading with him, asking for his attention. “ _Master.”_ Obi Wan’s head exploded in pain, and he vaguely registered Cody shouting his name before his vision went dark. 

When he resurfaced from wherever he’d gone, Obi Wan was laying on the floor and Ahsoka and Cody were leaning over him. 

“Master, are you okay?” Ahsoka asked, blue eyes full of concern. Obi Wan blinked and chose to come back to that question at a later time. 

“Anakin,” Obi Wan said. His voice was slightly slurred, but he ignored that and tried to push himself into a seated position. He found it to be much more difficult than it should have been. His shoulder was on fire, and his head was screaming, he felt dizzy. Obi Wan ignored it. “Anakin is on the planet.” 

“I felt him too, Master,” Ahsoka said. “I tried to tell him where we are through our bond, and I think he’s on his way to look for us now, but there’s a battle going on, and I talked to him a while ago. I’m not sure how long he’ll be, but I told him to hurry.” Her voice was full of fear, and she was shivering slightly, and Obi Wan suddenly felt guilty. He instinctively tried to call upon the force to comfort the padawan, but the pain in his head flared, and his vision blurred for a moment. Right. 

“General?” Cody’s voice was the first thing Obi Wan registered when he’d regained control of his senses. “Can you hear me, sir?” 

Obi Wan nodded slowly, only now registering that he was in fact wearing the chest piece of Cody’s armor. The clone had kept the rest for himself, for which Obi Wan was immeasurably grateful. He would not allow his commander to die on this planet. 

“Good,” Cody’s voice was familiar and soothing. Obi Wan figured he shouldn’t think such things. Attachments and all of that. But he was having difficulty focusing or thinking. He blinked and tried to concentrate. 

“We’ve got to move-” Obi Wan got tired of speaking and merely nodded at the rocks that had collapsed so long ago. He was so _tired_. But he needed to concentrate and forced his voice to work again, “Might be droids, Anakin might need help.” 

Obi Wan saw Ahsoka and Cody exchange a look, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. He pulled himself to his feet, only wincing slightly as everything in him screamed to stop moving. The world spun as he tried to make his way to the entrance of the cave, but he didn’t think he would collapse again. He registered Cody and Ahsoka close behind him, probably thinking he should be back on the ground. Obi Wan sort of agreed, but there were things to be done. He knelt by the rocks and began to move them, one by one, with his shaking hands. 

He had moved about three rocks before Cody knelt beside him and started to move stones as well. He didn’t say anything, and Obi Wan was grateful. Finally, Ahsoka lowered herself carefully to the floor of the cave as well. Obi Wan noticed her wince and remembered she was injured. She would have to remain in the cave for any fight that may or may not occur. 

Obi Wan figured he would be absolute rubbish if he had to fight at the moment, but that was alright. He wasn’t about to let Anakin fight alone. What kind of Master would he be if he did that? A bad one. 

Obi Wan almost laughed at himself because he rather felt like crying, but he didn’t. That would probably just further concern the two other beings in the cave. So, Obi Wan bit his lip and continued to move rocks. One by one. 

::: 

Anakin ran, desperately scanning the icy terrain, feeling out in the force, trying to pinpoint his padawan’s location. 

The instant he’d landed on the planet, he’d reached out in the force, sending himself as far as he could over the planet’s surface. He easily found Master Plo’s presence, fighting alongside his troopers. The Kel Dor hardly acknowledged Anakin though. He got the distinct impression that Plo wasn’t surprised that he was there. 

But that didn’t really matter because elsewhere, he could feel his padawan. He could have cried. It was so good to feel her, though she seemed very focused on something, in meditation. Anakin tapped at her briefly, just to let her know he was there, before seeking out Obi Wan’s presence. He didn’t want to bother his padawan if she was doing something important. 

It was more difficult than it should have been to place Obi Wan, but eventually he locked onto a weak and weary signature that could only be his former master. He tried to communicate with him through their bond, but there was a spike of pain and suddenly he couldn’t feel Obi Wan at all. What the hells? 

Anakin felt his heartbeat thudding faster in his chest and returned his attention to Ahsoka. She reached out to him, and the panic he felt from her was almost suffocating. Something was wrong. Anakin had clenched his fists and tried to communicate with Ahsoka, asking desperately what was going on, what happened to Obi Wan. But she felt distracted, potentially far away from him as well. But Anakin registered one thing, loud and clear and panicked. 

“ _Hurry, Skyguy.”_

So, Anakin had sprinted from his ship, focusing on his padawan’s energy and trying to locate her. He thought she’d mentioned a mountain, but the 212th’s camp was surrounded by mountains. Anakin growled in frustration and felt out. 

He could sense his padawan’s frightened signature to the East. It wasn’t very specific, but it was something. Anakin ran. 

It was freezing and slippery and cold, and Anakin found himself stumbling to his knees in the snow as the wind howled around him. But he ground his teeth and continued moving, trying to narrow in on his padawan’s location. But his mind was racing, it was hard to focus. All he could feel was Ahsoka’s panic and the feeling of Obi Wan’s signature abruptly falling from his mind. 

After at least half an hour of panicked searching, Anakin stopped. He couldn’t help them this way, a tiny voice reminded him. It sounded like Obi Wan. Anakin felt his heartbeat quicken. _Obi Wan_. He shoved the dread way, taking a moment to settle himself, blocking out Ahsoka’s panicked signature. He needed to focus. Closing his eyes, Anakin took several deep breaths as Padmé had taught him, and when he opened his eyes, he continued to move. More purposeful, more certain, more efficient. 

Finally, Anakin spotted something in the rocky, iced over hellscape. Slightly buried in the snow. Anakin felt his heart clench as he moved toward what looked like bodies. He desperately felt for Ahsoka and sighed as he felt her presence. She was still alive. He tentatively felt for Obi Wan. Nothing. But Obi Wan was with Ahsoka, Anakin assured himself, and Cody would be with them as well. 

He prayed to the force it was true as he approached the bodies in the snow. Even slightly buried, he quickly recognized the yellow-gold on their armor. But neither form was Cody. Anakin realized they must be the 212th troops that had been reported as dead. Anakin clenched his fists and looked around, not allowing himself time to mourn the men. He had to focus on trying to prevent more deaths. 

Anakin knew he had to be close. This was where they had been when Obi Wan had last checked in. Anakin felt out, picking up on Ahsoka quickly. He turned down the mountain and was met with a small group of battle droids, standing near a pile of rock. Anakin narrowed his eyes. It felt like Ahsoka was _behind_ the rock. 

“ _Are you in a cave?”_ Anakin sent through his bond with Ahsoka. The relief he felt from her was answer enough. He’d found them. Thank the force. 

“Artoo?” Anakin spoke into his commlink. “Bring the ship to my current coordinates.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much to everyone who is reading this! You guys make me happy haha! Look forward to the final (and longest) chapter tomorrow! Things are winding down, and it is time for the long overdue commmmfort section of this fic! Thanks you guys!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All is well <3

Cody glanced at his general for what felt like the hundredth time in the last three minutes. Obi Wan’s movements were slow and uncoordinated, vaguely pulling at the rocks in the cave as he stared at the ground. Everything in Cody was telling him to stop his general’s pathetic attempts to help and get him to lie down, but Ahsoka insisted General Skywalker was coming and Obi Wan seemed almost desperate to make himself useful, prove that he was fine. Which he clearly wasn’t, but the Jedi muttered a vague reassurance every time he caught Cody looking at him. 

So, Cody kept his mouth shut. At least for now. Until help arrived. Once General Skywalker arrived, though... 

Ahsoka seemed to agree with him as she hadn’t said anything either. Cody made eye contact with her every so often, checking in, trying to gage how much pain she was in, trying to decipher how close Skywalker was. When Cody checked on her then, she was shaking. Her force trance or whatever it was had ended, and the poor girl was cold. Hell, Cody was cold, and he still had bits and pieces of his armor. He should do something to help her, he knew. 

“How close?” Cody asked. Obi Wan didn’t even seem to register that he’d spoken, and Cody’s stomach churned. Skywalker needed to get here. Now. 

“Close,” Ahsoka said, teeth chattering. Cody’s throat tightened and he slid off the armor covering his arms, handing it to the young Togruta. She stared at him for a moment before wordlessly taking the covering, her big blue eyes conveying her gratitude. Good. 

Cody continued moving rocks, keeping his eyes on both Jedi. Time passed, he knew, but it felt like nothing was changing. There were only rocks and cold and the two Jedi beside him, tired and scared and possibly dying, Cody didn’t know. Suddenly, Ahsoka made a tiny gasping noise. 

“He’s here.” Her voice was shaky, but she was smiling. “He found the cave, he’s here.” 

Cody could have cried. The amount of relief that those simple words gave him was astounding, and he felt himself smiling as he stood. 

His mind seemed to clear. They were saved. General Skywalker was here. 

They were getting off this planet. 

He started making a plan. There could be droids outside the cave, still. There may be a battle awaiting them when they broke through the wall. 

“Take the general and get to the back of the cave. Neither of you are in any condition to fight,” Cody said, looking down at Ahsoka. She nodded solemnly and reached out to Obi Wan, who still didn’t seem to be picking up on what was going on. 

But before Ahsoka had even placed a hand on him, the general stood, stumbling slightly. Cody reached out to steady him, but the Jedi shrugged him off. 

“I’m not an invalid, Cody. I can fight,” he said. Which was, of course, utter banthashit. Cody glanced desperately at Ahsoka, but the padawan looked just as lost as he felt. Right. He was the adult in this situation. 

“Commander, you get back.” Cody gave her what he hoped was a reassuring nod. “We don’t know when the General will get here. Best if you’re out of danger, sir.” 

Ahsoka blinked up at him before nodding and scooting herself away from the mouth of the cave, where Cody’s helmet was still illuminating the dark space. With Ahsoka taken care of, Cody turned back to the idiot Jedi who was staring blankly at the fallen rocks. 

“General, I don’t think-” But Cody’s thought was interrupted as rocks began to fly away from the entrance of the cave. Cody whipped out his blaster, reflexes sharpened by instinct and paranoia, and aimed carefully at the cracks of light, trying to keep his hands from shaking. 

He heard the distinct sound of a lightsaber activating beside him, and Cody was briefly amazed that his general was able to hoist the blade up into his usual stance, though he could see the tip of the saber shaking. Cody prepped himself to move in front of his general if necessary. Whatever Obi Wan claimed, he would not survive a battle in his current state. 

Gun raised, Cody watched as the remaining rocks seemed to explode away from the entrance, moving all at once with a force Cody would never truly understand. The clone blinked against the light that flooded the cave and resisted the urge to cover his eyes. He had to stay focused, but as the dust settled, Cody slowly lowered his weapon. 

General Skywalker stood before them, breathing heavily, hair and robes whipping in the biting wind. Cody scanned the area, quickly noticing the wreckage of droids scattered around the Jedi. It seemed things were taken care of. 

“Master.” Anakin said, eyes locked on Obi Wan. Cody didn’t think he’d ever heard the reckless general sound so small. His voice was almost lost in the wind. 

Cody glanced over at his general. The man was standing, staring at Anakin, lightsaber still raised, blue blade shaking in his quivering hands. His expression was hard to read, and Cody moved closer to him. 

“General. It’s alright. We’re safe.” Cody said softly. 

Obi Wan made a sort of moaning sound as he deactivated his lightsaber, and Cody’ jaw clenched. He watched the Jedi’s arm fall slowly from its raised position as he crumpled to his knees. 

“Thank the force.” Obi Wan whispered. Cody was sure he wasn’t supposed to have heard it. He sounded so entirely _broken_ _._ I n a way Cody had never heard from his general _._ He’d heard him sound exhausted, angry, scared. But never broken. Not like this. 

The entire world seemed to stop. 

::: 

Anakin stared at the man who had raised him, collapsed, shaking on the floor of a cave. He couldn’t breathe for a few seconds, and then he was running. He fell to Obi Wan’s side, putting a hand on his master’s shoulder. “Kriff, Obi Wan.” He kept his voice soft and tried to gently probe at his master in the force. 

Anakin could feel him, but just barely. Even sitting directly next to him, Obi Wan’s presence felt weak. What the hells had happened? Anakin pushed aside the question and observed his master. The man’s face was scrunched in pain, and Anakin tried to check him over for injuries. He didn’t see anything especially worrying, just a blast wound on his shoulder. Anakin furrowed his eyebrows and poked at him again with the force, trying to get a sense of what he could do. 

Obi Wan hissed in pain, pressing his hand against his temple, and Anakin realized with horror that he was the one causing this pain. He immediately withdrew from Obi Wan, every shield he possessed slamming into place before he’d even really thought about it. "Shit, sorry. Are you okay?” Anakin said softly to the man. 

He watched his master relax slightly and tried not to take it personally. Obi Wan had tried to describe to him what he felt like in the force before; loud and bright and chaotic were the usual descriptors he’d used. Anakin could see how that might not be the best thing for his former master at the moment. 

“I’m fine,” Obi Wan said, hand still pressed against his head. Anakin didn’t believe him for a second. “Ahsoka’s injured. Back of the cave.” 

Anakin turned and looked, fear settling again in his stomach. Ahsoka was injured? He hadn’t felt anything from her before. 

“I’m fine, Master,” a familiar voice said, and Anakin smiled, eyes placing Ahsoka in the dark, leaned against a wall of the cave. “He’s just being dramatic.” 

“Hey, Snips. Good to see you.” And it was. Anakin could feel himself calming, just taking in his padawan’s appearance. She looked a bit beat up, and she was quivering in the cold like the rest of them, but she was okay. She would be alright. 

Anakin turned his attention to Cody briefly. He hadn’t been especially focused on Cody’s well being, which he felt a bit guilty for. “You alright, Commander?” He asked. 

“Yes, sir.” Cody nodded at him, though he was shaking. “Thanks for the rescue.” 

“Not a problem,” Anakin said. “Artoo should be here any second with my ship.” 

“Go get Ahsoka,” Obi Wan said softly, words slightly slurred. “She shouldn’t be walking.” Anakin made eye contact with Cody, and the clone nodded again. Okay. Anakin hesitantly stood, leaving his master in Cody’s care for the few moments it would take to go get his padawan. 

As he approached Ahsoka, he could feel her reaching out to him in the force. He opened his shields ever so slightly, letting his padawan slip into his mind. He felt her relief as he crouched next to her. She felt overwhelmingly glad to see him and Anakin felt a tiny spike of guilt for leaving her. He shoved it aside. 

“You really alright?” Anakin asked softly, eyes boring into Ahsoka’s. Obi Wan had said she was injured. Now that he was closer, he could feel a slight overlay of pain in her signature. 

“I will be. Just some cracked ribs.” 

Anakin felt a flash of apprehension or maybe shame from his padawan, but he didn’t ask about it. They could deal with that later. Instead, Anakin nodded and placed an arm carefully around Ahsoka’s shoulders, settling the other beneath her knees. 

“Really?” Ahsoka asked as he hoisted her into his arms, but she was smiling, and Anakin felt that little bit of negativity in her fall away into the force. 

“Yes, really.” Anakin gave her his most annoying, full energy smile, trying to put her further at ease. “Obi Wan said you shouldn’t be walking, so you won’t.” 

“Obi Wan also said he was fine, which clearly isn’t true,” Ahsoka countered. Anakin heard a vague disagreement from his master from the cave entrance, but they both ignored it. Anakin huffed out a laugh and started towards the front of the cave. 

“True, but we’re going to deal with that in a minute.” He continued to smile. This felt so easy, just bantering with his padawan, making fun of his master, Anakin finally allowed himself to relax. They were both alright. Or they would be. 

Anakin felt his padawan bury her face into his chest and he felt a pulse of gratitude from her force signature. He sent her a simple feeling of calm in return. 

“ _I’ve got you, Snips. It’s okay now.”_

Just as Anakin was nearing the entrance of the cave, he heard the familiar roar of his ship. Finally. 

“Artoo’s here,” He said to Cody, who was still crouched next to Obi Wan’s shaking form. “You got him?” 

The clone nodded and wrapped an arm around Obi Wan’s shoulder. “Come on, sir. We’re getting out of here.” His voice soft and gentler than Anakin had ever heard it, and Anakin saw Obi Wan nod almost imperceptibly before the two struggled to a standing position. It was worrying how heavily his master leaned into Cody’s side, but Anakin ignored it. Once they were on the ship, he would fix everything. Right now, he needed to get these poor people out of the cold. 

Wrapping his cloak around Ahsoka, still cradled in his arms, Anakin stepped into the icy wind, moving as quickly as he could without jostling his poor padawan. He reached the ship and started up the ramp immediately, glancing back to see Cody and Obi Wan following slowly behind him, wind whipping against their already cold bodies. He winced slightly and sped up the ramp, setting Ahsoka delicately on the small cot in the back of the ship. He sent her one last calm feeling through their bond and headed back down the ramp. 

Cody and Obi Wan were closer now, but Anakin didn’t want them in the cold for another second. He moved quickly, ensuring that his shields were firmly in place before he reached them. Making brief eye contact with Cody, Anakin made a decision that was going to make his master very angry. Though, Anakin couldn’t bring himself to care as he scooped Obi Wan into his arms as he had Ahsoka. Obi Wan made a small startled noise, and Anakin ignored it. He was getting his master off of this kriffing planet right now. 

Obi Wan was significantly heavier than the small Togruta, but Anakin hardly noticed, hurrying towards the warmth of his ship as Obi Wan shook violently in his arms. 

His master didn’t say anything, which only served to worry Anakin more. The stubborn man would normally adamantly protest to any perception that he was less than capable, but he just looked away from Anakin, a small frown on his face. No struggle, no complaint. Just calm resignation. Anakin moved faster, and Cody kept pace with him. They were climbing the ship’s ramp in no time. 

“Turn up the temperature, Artoo. And get us out of here,” he commanded, setting Obi Wan carefully onto his feet, providing his master a steadying hand until Obi Wan nodded at him. Then he moved carefully away and began opening compartments in his ship, searching for blankets, water, rations. He saw Cody convince Obi Wan to sit down on one of the benches lining the wall of the ship, as Anakin pulled out his findings. There were only two blankets on the ship, much to Anakin’s frustration. 

He stood, replacing the covering of the compartment and carefully moving to the back of the ship where his padawan lay on the cot. She blinked at him as he entered, and he smiled at her. 

“ _How’s Obi Wan?”_ Ahsoka asked through their bond. Anakin settled one of the blankets over his padawan, smoothing it over her, tucking her in as Obi Wan had for him so long ago. 

“ _Not sure, I don’t know what happened to him.”_

_“He healed me, Master._ _”_ Ahsoka’s force signature was full of guilt. Crushing, assaulting guilt. _“_ _Apparently,_ _I was a lot worse that I am, and he healed me and depended on the force for two days,_ _and helped Cody and me,_ _and then he_ _collapsed_ _and I couldn’t feel him at all for five minutes, and I though_ _t he was dead_ _—_ _I_ _actually thought_ _he would die, Master_ _, a_ _nd I didn’t want to_ _lose_ _him_ _,_ _I was so_ _scared,_ _and I know it’s not the Jedi way-_ _”_ Ahsoka’s thoughts were panicked and spiraling and Anakin watched as tears started to roll down her cheeks. He knelt beside the cot and placed his hand on her cheek, brushing away the tears. 

“Shhh,” He whispered, pushing every ounce of calm he possessed at his padawan. It seemed the dangerous situation had caught up to her, now that they were safe. Anakin knew the feeling well, but he hated the distress on Ahsoka’s face. He should have gotten here faster. He shouldn’t have left her in the first place. “You’re okay. It’s alright, Ahsoka. Breathe, Snips.” He instructed gently. Ahsoka made an admirable attempt to obey him, and Anakin continued to stroke her face until she calmed. “Can I give you a sleep suggestion?” Anakin asked softly. Ahsoka simply nodded, staring up at his face with her big eyes. Anakin sent her a calm order to sleep, and he stayed with her until her eyes drifted closed. 

Then he stood and allowed himself to consider what she had just told him. It sounded like Obi Wan was dealing with intense levels of force exhaustion, which wasn’t particularly out of the ordinary. But clearly this was worse than before. He’d never seen his master this bad before. 

Anakin moved back to the hold of the ship, finding Obi Wan leaned forward, head in hands, with Cody beside him, rubbing his back. The clone looked up when he entered again, and Anakin nodded at him gratefully. He was almost certain that Cody was a big part of his master being alive at the moment. He really was brilliant at looking after the Jedi. Cody nodded back, and Anakin knew he understood. 

Anakin knelt in front of his master, wrapping the remaining blanket around his shoulders. Obi Wan looked up at him. His eyes were bloodshot, the bags underneath them nearly opaque. Anakin felt his heart clench, but of course the first thing out of his master’s mouth was, “Is Ahsoka alright?” 

“Yes, Master,” Anakin tried to keep frustration from his voice. This man. “Are you okay? You look terrible.” 

“Thank you, Anakin,” Obi Wan laughed slightly, and Anakin reveled in the sound, though it was pained. “I feel rather terrible, actually. 

“You should get some rest,” Anakin said. He knew Obi Wan would protest because he always did, but Anakin always tried. He braced for an argument. 

This time, though, Obi Wan just nodded slowly. “That might be for the best.” 

Anakin blinked at him in surprise, but he wasn’t about to complain. He stood and sat beside his master, on the other side from Cody. “Sleep suggestion? Or would that be worse?” Anakin asked softly. 

Obi Wan shook his head, “Better not. Thank you, though.” He sat up slightly and leaned back against the hull of the ship, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was still shivering slightly. Anakin, without really thinking, reached an arm around Obi Wan’s shoulder and pulled him to his side.

Anakin was warm, after all, and probably more comfortable than the metal sides of the ship. He sort of expected Obi Wan to pull away, but the Jedi Master simply raised an eyebrow before shifting into a more comfortable position against his side and closing his eyes. “I’m alright, Anakin,” he said softly. 

“Okay, Master,” Anakin said. He would humor him for now. When they got to the _Negotiator_ , though, Anakin was sending him straight to Kix. Anakin glanced over at Cody. The clone was watching Obi Wan with a satisfied smile on his face, but Anakin could feel his exhaustion pulsating in the force. “Get over here, Cody.” 

The clone jolted in surprise. “Sir?” 

“You thought I wasn't going to make you sleep too?” Anakin laughed. “I’m out of blankets, but I do make a good human pillow. Come here.” 

Cody stared at him for a moment before standing and moving to his other side and leaning cautiously against his side. Anakin wrapped an arm around the clone, and Cody relaxed slowly against him. “Thanks for looking out for them,” Anakin said softly. 

“Of course, General,” Cody replied, trying to suppress a yawn. Anakin smiled, and decided he would shut up now. They both needed rest. 

So, Anakin sat between his master and the clone commander, comforted by the physical contact. He probably could have fallen asleep as well, but his commlink chirped, and Anakin suddenly realized he hadn’t contacted Master Plo for the entirety of his time on Vandor. 

“Skywalker, I’m about to evacuate the planet. Have you found them? Are they okay? Do you need me?” The Kel Dor’s raspy voice sounded through the communicator. Anakin had to briefly lift his arm from around Obi Wan’s shoulder to reach his commlink to reply, but Anakin knew Master Plo needed to hear it. 

“It’s okay, Master. I’ve got them.” 

The senior Jedi gave him a simple reply, clearly relieved, and Anakin let his arm fall back around his master.

He allowed himself to breathe as he felt Obi Wan’s tiny force signature slip into sleep. It was alright. He had them back. 

They were safe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhhh!! You guys! This has been such a fun experience for me, and I am so glad that you all have taken the time to read my story. It makes me feel good that my writing can make other people happy, and like ahhhhhh! Thank you for every kudo, comment, bookmark, anything and everything. It means the world to me, seriously!!
> 
> As a side note, would anyone be interested in an epilogue? I have one little scene bouncing around in my head that won't leave me alone haha. So, let me know if anyone is interested in a potential epilogue to this story.  
> And thank you once again for reading!! You guys are awesome!
> 
> ALSO if anyone wants to look at some doodles I did for this fic, you can check those out here:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/walpger/art/Gaping-Hollow-Dump-Star-Wars-844300327


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi Wan comfort part 2 because the first part wasn't nearly enough haha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!! The epilogue!! Thanks for everyone who requested it, it means a lot to mee!!
> 
> Also yeah Kix is in the 501sttt technically butttttt I love him, and I wanted him in this fic, so I guess he's with the 212th for some reason shhhhhhh don't worry about it

Obi Wan regained consciousness slowly. The first thing he registered was that he was warm. For the first time in what felt like years, he was completely warm. The second thing that came to his attention was that he felt like he’d just been rammed with a speeder. His head was still pounding, and pain was shooting through his shoulder. Obi Wan groaned slightly and forced his eyes open. He was still leaning against Anakin, which Obi Wan figured he really should be embarrassed about. He knew he probably would be later, but for now, he truly couldn’t bring himself to care. 

He glanced up at his former padawan. Anakin was looking down at him with a stupid smirk on his face, “Morning, Master.” 

“Do shut up, Anakin,” Obi Wan mumbled, pushing himself off of his padawan and finally registering that someone was poking and prodding at his shoulder. That would be why it hurt so badly. He glanced over to find a familiar clone kneeling beside the bench, first aid kit spread across the floor of the ship. 

“Kix?” Obi Wan glanced quickly at Anakin, trying to read his apprentice’s expression. Anakin just continued smirking at him, and Obi Wan glared. This was why he didn’t like sleeping. Clearly, he’d missed something. Had they somehow picked up the 212th? Were the rest of his men okay? 

“General,” Kix nodded to him in greeting, giving him a small smile, and Obi Wan’s attention snapped back to the man in front of him. 

“What are you doing here?” Was the only thing Obi Wan’s weary mind could come up with. Kriff his stupid exhaustion. He needed to think. 

“You got shot, sir,” Kix said, eyebrow raising in amusement as his smile became wider, though his gaze remained firmly fixed on Obi Wan’s shoulder. 

“Yes, thank you, Kix,” Obi Wan rolled his eyes. “I mean how did you get on the ship?” 

“We’re docked on the _Negotiator_ , Master,” Anakin said. Obi Wan could hear the amusement in his padawan’s voice without even looking at him. It irked him greatly. “We got here about an hour ago.” 

“What?” Obi Wan looked around the ship. Cody was gone from the bench, Obi Wan realized, and he couldn’t see Ahsoka anywhere. He felt a wave of too familiar panic. “Where’s Ahsoka?” He turned to look at Kix, “She had a spine injury. I tried to heal it, but you need to make sure it’s set correctly; I don’t want there to be-” 

“Taken care of, General. Commander Tano is in the med bay of _The Negotiator_ as we speak. Her spine looks fine, though,” Kix said, pulling at Obi Wan’s robes to apply a bacta salve. Obi Wan furrowed his eyebrows. Oh. That was good, he supposed. 

“And Cody?” 

“Nothing major to report with the Commander, sir. We checked him out. He’s alright. He was heading to his bunk last I saw him.” Kix explained, replacing Obi Wan’s robes carefully before beginning to pack up his supplies. 

“The 212th? How bad was it down there?” Obi Wan tried to feel out for his men on _The Negotiator_. It hurt, and his head spun, but he was able to do it. He could feel many of them, some injured, some sleeping, many tense or grieving. But they were still here. Most of them. 

“They’ll be alright, General.” Kix assured him, a sad smile on his face. Obi Wan shoved a wave of grief into the force, thankful that he could push the wretched feeling away again. 

“In short,” Anakin said, standing and stretching his arms above his head. “You can stop worrying, Master. Everyone’s fine.” Obi Wan felt his padawan’s force presence pushing him back into his own head with a fond exasperation. 

Obi Wan frowned. He trusted Kix and Anakin, of course. But there was a nagging doubt. 

He just wanted to see them. He hadn’t been with his men in far too long, and he felt oddly unsettled without Ahsoka and Cody beside him; he had gotten used to being able to glance over and confirm that they were still alive. Now, they were off on the ship somewhere and feeling for them would hurt and- Obi Wan cut off his spiraling mind. He just wanted to see them. Make sure. 

Obi Wan stood cautiously as Kix finished packing up his things. He felt the clone try to subtly glance up at him, and Anakin’s gaze was fixed on him as well, unashamedly concerned. Obi Wan sighed. 

“I’m fine,” He said to no one in particular. And he was. He felt better than he had before, certainly. If he could just check in on his troops, his commander, and his grandpadawan, and potentially get his head to stop hurting, he would be great. 

“I still want to look you over properly, sir,” Kix said, standing as well. “If you’ll follow me to the med bay?” 

Obi Wan closed his eyes and felt a flash of frustration. He was _fine._ But Kix was giving him that look that said he wasn’t really making a suggestion, and Obi Wan sighed. So much for checking on people. Although, Ahsoka was in the med bay. He supposed he could start with her, if just to humor his stubborn medic. “Yes, alright.” Obi Wan raised his hands in surrender, Kix gave a satisfied nod, and Anakin just laughed, leading the way off of his ship. 

Obi Wan caught glimpses of some of his troops in the corridors of the ship, and he was glad to see them. They all seemed relieved to see him as well, and the Jedi made sure to give them reassuring smiles and nods when he passed them. Cody had somehow trained them all to be constantly worried about his wellbeing, and Obi Wan wanted to put them at ease as much as possible. Though, a lot of them looked more concerned upon seeing him. Obi Wan realized he hadn’t seen himself in several days. He probably looked horrible. The thought was oddly amusing, and Anakin gave him a very confused half-smile as he felt Obi Wan’s amusement in the force. 

When they reached the med bay, Ahsoka was sitting up in her bed, legs crossed, and talking animatedly to one of the medics. Obi Wan smiled, feeling some of the tension he felt slip into the force. She looked better. Well rested, healthy, warm. That was good. That was very good. 

Ahsoka looked over at them as they entered and smiled brightly. 

“Master!” Her voice was excited and maybe a bit relieved, and Obi Wan smiled softly. He knew he should probably discourage Ahsoka’s attachment to Anakin, and vice versa, but they were in the middle of a war. It was hardly a normal situation, and anything that brought his padawans comfort... “Are you okay? I can feel you a lot easier now, although not nearly as much as normal.” 

Obi Wan glanced at Anakin, checking for damage. Why wouldn’t she have been able to feel him? Anakin stared back at him and simply raised his eyebrows. Obi Wan glanced back to Ahsoka, who was looking at him expectantly, a touch of confusion on her face. It was only then that Obi Wan realized she was talking to him. Oh... _Oh._

“Oh, sorry. Yes, I’m fine.” Obi Wan laughed lightly. “How are you feeling? You look better.” Obi Wan moved towards her, and Kix made no move to stop him as the Jedi had expected. Instead, the medic busied himself with putting away the equipment he’d brought to Anakin’s ship. 

“Oh, I feel great. I’m allowed to leave whenever, I think,” she glanced at Kix for confirmation. The clone nodded to her and gently pushed Obi Wan into a chair next to Ahsoka’s bed. 

“That’s good,” Obi Wan said with a tired smile, simply allowing whatever Kix was doing to happen. As long as he could see Ahsoka, he didn’t really care. 

“Honestly, I was kind of waiting for you guys to show up,” Ahsoka glanced between himself and Anakin, standing at the foot of her bed. “Skyguy was very insistent that we didn’t wake you up, so he told Cody and I to leave and just send Kix over to you. But it felt weird leaving you there. I was really worried.” 

Obi Wan took a moment to process all of that. She was worried about him? He shook his head and glanced at Anakin, who was very clearly avoiding eye contact. He could feel his padawan’s embarrassment with very little effort; it was coming off of him in sheets. Obi Wan could have laughed if he wasn’t also slightly mortified by the whole situation. It was rather sweet, though, Obi Wan’s weary brain reminded him. He cleared his throat. 

“Well, I am fine, young one. No need to worry.” 

“General,” Kix said from somewhere behind him. Obi Wan turned to look, half expecting the clone to argue with him over his reassuring statement. He prepped himself with arguments, ready to prove that he was, in fact, fine. At least better than before. But he was met with something completely different. “Tea, sir?” 

Obi Wan blinked as Kix held out a steaming cup of liquid. He blinked at the cup for a moment before his gaze raised to Kix, who was just smiling down at him pleasantly. Obi Wan narrowed his eyes. He’d been fooled before by Kix’s tricks. He had no way to know if there was some sort of sleep-inducing medical property to that tea. 

Kix raised an eyebrow at his wary expression. “It’s just tea, sir.” Obi Wan briefly felt out, headache flaring as he did so. But Kix wasn’t lying. Praise the force. 

Obi Wan’s smile was anything but forced as he accepted the cup and sipped at it gently. “Thank you.” 

“No problem, sir,” Kix rolled his eyes fondly and started poking at Obi Wan’s shoulder again. Obi Wan returned his attention to Ahsoka, who was regaling Anakin with the more interesting aspects of their stay on Vandor. He just watched them, content to drink his tea and listen to his grandpadawan prattle on, with various interjections from Anakin. It was almost perfect. Almost. If Cody was here... 

As if summoned by Obi Wan’s thought, the clone commander entered the med bay a few moments later, followed by several other members of the 212th. Obi Wan blinked at them. Most of his men just nodded in greeting before dispersing to converse with some of their brothers also situated in the med bay. But Cody came to stand next to Anakin, slipping easily into the conversation, glancing at Obi Wan with a small smile on his face. Hm. 

Over the next hour, different members of the 212th cycled in and out of the med bay, each one making brief eye contact with Obi Wan before heading spreading out and leaving a while later. Obi Wan watched them all carefully, checking each man over, making sure they were alright. 

After a while, Kix made him stand up and move to an examination bed next to Ahsoka’s. Obi Wan complied with only minor grumbling, sipping at his tea to dispel his frustration. Kix waved several instruments over him, but Obi Wan kept his attention focused on Cody, Anakin and Ahsoka. Cody seemed to be reluctantly describing Ahsoka’s spine injury while the oddly smug Togruta listened intently, and Anakin tried very hard not to look affected by the whole matter. Obi Wan smiled at them. 

He had figured, by now, that this whole thing was orchestrated specifically for him. The troops cycling through, Cody meeting them here, Ahsoka staying past the point when she was allowed to leave, the unaltered tea. It was all some massive scheme to make him feel at ease. He wasn’t sure exactly who had organized it. Kix, perhaps. Anakin was likely involved. Maybe even Cody and Ahsoka, he really wasn’t sure. He was vaguely annoyed with all the effort being put into the whole thing, but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t working. 

After a while, Kix gave him a pain killer and left him alone, taking the Jedi’s empty cup with him. 

And Obi Wan was left to watch his friends—family, something in the back of his mind corrected. They were smiling and alive and warm and _sa_ _fe._ And Obi Wan felt calm. 

He sighed and let his eyes fall closed. He would seek retribution for this little scheme later. For now, everything was alright. 

::: 

“He asleep?” Ahsoka asked softly, cautiously glancing over at her grandmaster. 

“Yeah,” Cody sighed, a soft smile on his face as he observed the sleeping Jedi. Ahsoka couldn’t help but mirror the expression. The Jedi Master was curled in on himself, facing the three of them. His hand was pressed against his mouth, his breathing was soft, and his face was completely calm. He looked like a tiny youngling, Ahsoka noted. She smiled wider. 

“I guess we can leave, now?” Anakin said hesitantly, gaze also fixed on Obi Wan’s sleeping form. Ahsoka glanced up at him, and Cody nodded vaguely, but no one spoke and none of them moved to leave. Ahsoka sighed contentedly and turned her attention back to the sleeping Jedi. 

They would stay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THAAANKK YOUUUU!! Literally all of you guys reading and liking my story has made me feel so good. I am so happy people have enjoyed this, and I hope you guys all enjoy this little fluffy epilogue. Thanks so much for reading and all the kudos and comments, it means the world to me!!


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